Find out how many are making a living by renting out their property
Despite government policies and restrictions that impacted the private rented sector, the number of landlords in the British rental market has climbed by 2.4% since 2016/17, market analysis from Total Landlord Insurance has revealed.
It analysed the current estimated number of landlords with income generated via property and how this has changed over time. The figures showed that across Britain, almost 2.6 million property owners make a living as a landlord.
London is home to the most landlords with 463,200. It has also seen the largest increase in the number of landlords since 2016/17 – up by 8.4%.
The East of England (4%) and South East (3.4%) also recorded some of the largest uplifts in landlord numbers. The South East also had the second highest number of landlords at 459,410.
However, not every area has seen landlord numbers increase. In Wales, the number of landlords fell by 3.9%. The South West has seen a decline of 1.5%, with the North East (-0.6%) and Scotland (-0.3%) also seeing a decline, albeit it to a lesser degree.
At local authority level, the City of London has seen a 37% rise in the number of landlords, with Barking and Dagenham home to the second highest increase at 20%.
Read more: London rent frenzy to continue.
Outside of London, Slough has the largest increase, also up 20%. Newham (16%) and Thurrock (16%) also rank within the top five.
However, in Pembrokeshire, the number of operational landlords has declined by 13% since 2016/17, along with Allerdare and Gwynedd. Ceredigion (-12%) and Scarborough (-12%) have also endured some of the largest declines in landlord numbers.
“In recent years, the nation’s landlords have been served up an unsavoury cocktail with regard to restrictions to income tax relief, buy-to-let stamp duty increases, and changes to capital gains tax,” Steve Barnes, associate director at Total Landlord Insurance, commented. “Despite this, the number of landlords has not only remained robust across Britain, but we’ve actually seen an increase which is proof, if it were ever needed, that property remains a very attractive investment.
“Of course, this hasn’t been the case completely across the board and some areas have seen a notable decline. Unfortunately for tenants in those areas, this decline in rental investment will only limit the options available to them, driving up the cost of renting in the process.”
